G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE Superhero Brother (Brushfire) Rating: NN
The Special Sauce sounds and tastes exactly like I expect, for better and worse: some Jack Johnsonish earnestness delivered pseudo-rap-style over standard Philly blues band grooves.
To be fair, I’m sure there’s a sizable contingent of G. Lovers who seek three-verse-and-chorus song structures, eight-bar bridges and pop-radio-simple choruses, and there is a string of spirited ditties in the second half of the album.
G. Love sounds at home pouring his heart out about his grandmother and making bong-smoker anthems, but a few numbers sound clichéd. Sure, Wiggle Worm’s squishy instrumentation is playful, if you can swallow the childish lyrics. Still, Wont’cha Come Home sounds emotionally naked. His admission, “Darling, I’ve been waiting / while you’ve gone and done your changing…” touches, before the best song on the album, Crumble, elegantly trickles into the ear with impressive delicacy.
G. Love & Special Sauce play the Sound Academy Saturday (August 9).
